Receiver Rivers goes with flow

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

When then-St. Louis defensive coordinator Delbert Tengan saw Jason Rivers in the eighth grade he thought he'd make a good defensive back. Advertiser library photo • Oct. 20, 2001

"But you know our offense. They want to grab the best guys all the time," joked Tengan, now the Crusaders' first-year head coach.

Rivers ended up being one of the best guys all right. But it was as an all-state wide receiver last year as a junior. His success came at a position he never thought about playing while growing up.

"All my life I was a running back," Rivers said of when he played Pop Warner in Waipahu. "When I went to St. Louis, I wanted to play running back, but they put me at wide receiver. Things worked out better than I expected."

Now that Rivers has clearly found his niche, his sight is set on the most anticipated prep game in Hawai'i when his Crusaders take on three-time USA Today national champion De La Salle in Saturday night's HHSAA/First Hawaiian Bank Football Classic at Aloha Stadium.

The Spartans (1-0), who are riding a national record 126-game winning streak, are ranked first in this week's USA Today Super 25, while the Crusaders (2-0) are No. 17.

The dream matchup has been talked about for three years, but became a reality less than a year ago.

"It means a lot to me," Rivers said. "I've been waiting for this since my freshman year. I was hoping to have a chance to be in this game."

Now is the time to prove himself. The 6-foot-1?-inch and 190-pound Rivers is among the top 100 players in the West region as ranked by Student Sports magazine's preseason football preview. De La Salle defensive coordinator Terry Eidson said Rivers is among four Division I-caliber receivers his team will face this season.

"He's definitely got good size and definitely a prospect for college," Eidson said. "He goes for the ball well, runs good routes, has good hands and has experience. We know we have to stop him. They have a lot of good receivers, but he's the one considered the best."

Tengan knows that the Spartans' secondary is capable of defending Rivers.

"I'm sure they've faced players of Jason's caliber before, so it's nothing new to them," Tengan said.

Rivers said from viewing tapes of De La Salle, he noticed its pass defenders have good speed.

"The only thing I know about their corners is that they're faster than the ones I've played against (in past games)," he said. "I have to prepare for the difference in speed. But in terms of height, everything is the same."

Rivers is more than a speed burner on the turf. He used his athleticism to make acrobatic catches and to dodge tacklers last season, amassing 46 receptions for 1,124 yards and 19 touchdowns. In last year's state tournament (three games), he had 16 catches for 386 yards and eight TDs. Although blessed with talent, Tengan said Rivers is one of the team's hardest workers.

"All summer he was doing conditioning," Tengan said. "He's always leading the pack in sprints. He knows this is his final year at St. Louis and this is a game in which he can showcase his talents because the guys he will be going up against are just as good, if not better."

As for the game itself, it is one of the few times in more than a decade that the Crusaders are not the favorites. Rivers understands De La Salle's plight. When St. Louis won 14 consecutive O'ahu Prep Bowls/state championships, none of those teams wanted to be the first to end the string.

"I don't feel that much pressure because we have nothing to lose," Rivers said. "They have a 126-game winning streak. I know they have pressure on them because they don't want to lose."

Still, Rivers wants to win to honor previous St. Louis teams because it is their success that set up this game. That's why he considers it a privilege to play football at St. Louis. It is where his older brother, Frank, also a receiver, played. It is where his parents wanted him to go since he was in elementary school.

"Football has been a big part of my life," Rivers said. "People know who I am because of it and I'm appreciative of that."

Note: St. Louis owns Hawai'i's longest win streak at 55, spanning the 1985-1990 seasons. That streak was snapped by Canyon (Canyon Country, Calif.), 40-0, at Aloha Stadium. Kahuku, which will play Long Beach (Calif.) Poly in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, has the state's longest present streak at 26.

WHAT: Hawai'i High School Athletic Association/First Hawaiian Bank Football Classic

WHO: Kahuku vs. Long Beach Poly (Calif.), 5 p.m.; St. Louis vs. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) 8 p.m.

WHEN: Saturday

WHERE: Aloha Stadium

TICKETS: At Aloha Stadium box office, today-Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m., 9 a.m. day of the games, and charge line (484-1122); Ticket Plus outlets $24 (mauka and makai sidelines, orange and blue levels); $19 (mauka and makai sidelines red and yellow levels); $14 (south end zone: orange, blue, red and yellow levels); $8 (north end zone orange level: Honolulu Advertiser Zonies Section); $5 north end zone (blue, brown, red and yellow)

PARKING: $2

TAILGATING: Allowed, but not after the last game

ALTERNATIVE PARKING: Leeward Community College ($2 shuttle service), Kam Drive-in ($2, free shuttle), Radford High School ($1, no shuttle). Shuttles run from 2 to 5 p.m. and return trips from 8 p.m. No tailgating at alternate parking sites

SECURITY: Fanny packs allowed, but subject to check. All other bags, purses, outside containers prohibited